


Purple Rain

by rainbowtourmaline



Category: Sym-Bionic Titan, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Humor, Light Horror, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-16
Updated: 2017-04-30
Packaged: 2018-10-19 20:40:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10647669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainbowtourmaline/pseuds/rainbowtourmaline
Summary: Keith of Voltron and Lance of Sym-Bionic Titan are alone, vulnerable and may have to admit that they have been hiding their true feelings about that one irritating, wonderful person in their life.





	1. In a Galaxy Far Far Away...

**Author's Note:**

> The Sym-Bionic Titan and Voltron crossover fanfic no one asked for but I'm writing anyway because I finished the former series this week.
> 
> I'm already praying Gennedy gets to give SBT a second season. But just in case that wish doesn't come true, have some crossover fanfic! 
> 
> Just to clarify some things though:  
> -This is a Klance fanfic. As in there will be romantic hints about the relationship between Keith and Voltron's Lance, not Sym-Bionic Titan Lance. There will be no complicated love triangles.  
> -I've added the light horror tag and the 'author has chosen not to use archive warnings' label to warn people about content they might not be comfortable with. I don't want to give anything away because I think that would ruin the atmosphere of the fic, but I want you guys to be well-prepared for some scary stuff. This is not a fanfic for sensitive readers.

Sometimes Lance and Keith would spend hours just glaring at each other from across the room of their tiny, tiny spaceship that hardly had even a bit of leg room, even though they had sought each other out as allies in the space prison they had been wormholed into. Anyone close to them knew that it was just in their nature not to trust new people or to let anyone into their circle without becoming a level 4 friend, especially when they were in a very vulnerable position. Childhood trauma and constantly losing the people you cared about just really sucked like that so they were definitely not risking getting attached to anyone again.

However, Lance of Galaluna and Keith of Voltron had no choice but to work together if they wanted to get back to their fire-formed families, especially if they were going to defeat every obstacle that wanted to stand in their way. If you asked them they would say that they were amazing fighters who didn’t need to rely on anyone’s help, but reality dictated that teamwork was a must if they wanted to survive the hellish landscape they were travelling across. Because reality sucked like that.

“That was some pretty fancy sword fighting. You gave that pampered prince a run for his money.” Lance quirked an eyebrow as he watched Keith wash his jacket in the dirty swamp river they found on a desolate, but quiet planet that said pampered prince would never dare set foot on in a million years. It was a perfect hiding place for a paladin and servant of Galaluna who had royally pissed off the Galra empire and Muttradi supporting ruler.  

“You think?” Lance smirked when Keith only offered a wry smile in return. Ilana often told him off for being antisocial and unfriendly, but he wondered what she would say if she met Keith. Lance sighed as he thought about the princess, the deep recesses of his heart yearning for her bright smile and cheery disposition. He had no idea how much he took her optimism for granted during their time on Earth, especially during their darkest hours.

“I don’t give compliments very often, so yeah I do think.” However, Lance would accept Keith’s dry humour and sarcasm for now. There were only so many hours he could have glaring contests with the grumpy Galra/Human and there was no way he was getting attached to him.

No way. 

“You’re not so bad yourself.” Lance said as he grimaced at the way his uniform turned a dark green colour when it came into contact with the swamp water. He held it away from his body in disgust at the sight. “I’m not one for handling two blades at once, but you did it like a pro.”

This time Keith’s smile was genuine. Galaluna had not yet had a brush with the Galran empire, so Lance did not have any negative associations with the Blade of Mamora or his Galran heritage. It was… nice. Like starting all over again with a blank slate.

“Thanks.”

The pair quietly went back to washing their dirty laundry in the dirty swamp water in a sorry attempt at hygiene and cleanliness, enjoying a very short period of peace.

A very short period of peace.

They never saw the alien tentacles coming.    


	2. Creep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything is groovy, everything is love...

Keith’s mouth felt… dry. This would have been normal if he were back in the desert he stayed at before he met the other Paladins and had forgotten to stay hydrated again, but last time he checked he was on a watery, sludge invested swamp planet with Lance. Not his Lance, but Lance of Galaluna who could do a 100 push up, fought dozens of aliens monsters back on Earth, brought his friend back from the dead (or tried to) and singlehandedly rescued the princess of his planet from certain death. He was pretty darn cool, but Keith would never admit that aloud.

Keith would also never admit that despite all that, Lance Number 2 didn’t hold a candle to his Lance and he often found himself comparing the grumpy brunette to the blue paladin when he was trying to get some shut eye.

By the way, get your mind out of the gutter, dear reader. Keith wasn’t thinking of Lance like that. They were all perfectly innocent thoughts. 

Just before he would fall into the arms of the night he would think about the time Lance helped an insecure and scared Hunk be honest about his feelings for Shay and came up with an idea to present the rock alien with a bouquet of flowers ‘because chicks like Shay love old school romance.’ Keith would never forget how he lifted his friend up when he was down and Hunk was seriously down.   

He would also think about the time he nearly walked in on Lance saying he would be Pidge’s big brother until they found Matt during their all-night gaming sessions (they finally managed to get the game console working). This did not cause Keith to ollie back into his room, his hand clutched to his chest at how cute the scene he just saw was. Adorable was not in his vocabulary, no sir.

If you asked Keith he would also not tell you about the moment where he held Lance in his arms and hoped and prayed he would wake up again. The moments where he spent nights watching Lance in the healing pod and thought his skin looked luminous under its blue light. The time where Lance found Keith mourning for Shiro and wrapped him up in his blue bath robe to stop him from feeling cold and cuddled him in his arms…

Keith thought about how warm Lance was then and how close he was…

“Keith?”

But like always, Lance Number 2 would wake Keith up before memories of reality would become blissful fantasy.

“Keith? What happened?”

And just like that, Keith was back on the smelly, disgusting swamp planet with Lance of Galaluna and he hated himself for it.

He honestly never felt so thirsty and homesick in all his life.

“I don’t know… We were doing laundry and now I have a pounding headache.”

“Same.” Keith loved how Lance Number 2 was so articulate.

“Good morning, my new pets.”

Keith and Lance froze when they heard a new voice cut through the haze of their coma. Slowly, their foggy vision cleared up to reveal a creature with hundreds of eyes, large teeth and a toothy grin that could make your toes curl in the most unpleasant of ways. With shocking clarity, the two space explorers realised that they had been sealed into place with swamp vines, laid out for this new enemy like a butterfly waiting to be dissected and put on display for the enjoyment of others.

“It’s a beautiful new day, isn’t it?” they couldn’t tell, as the swamp blocked out any source of light.

Lance was the first to speak.

“What do you want with us?”

 Keith could probably give a very good guess about what the alien creature wanted, but he was too frightened to speak.

The alien’s toothy grin turned into a simpering smirk.

“You just like to cut to the chase, don’t you?” the alien gave a bell-like laugh that would have been pleasant under different circumstances. “I’m afraid I’m not the type of villain to do monologuing so you will just have to wait and see. However, before I do my evil bidding I must do something quite distasteful.”

The alien reached out towards the two boys with their tentacle hands and softly cupped their faces like a lover welcoming them back home after being away at war.

“Now, you should feel relaxed and warm.”

Keith grit his teeth as the alien willed those emotions into his body and he hated how the sensation felt like his midnight pondering about the blue paladin.

“All is well, all is love my darlings…”

 Keith could hear Lance grunting in protest, but he knew that they wouldn’t be able to resist. Didn’t mean Keith would stop fighting this alien beast though.

“And the next words out of your mouth will be the name of the one who makes you feel like a king, the one who makes your toes curl, the one who sets your soul on fire in the best way possible...”

As much as Keith and Lance tried to think about the most unpleasant thoughts they could muster and rebel against their new commander, there was no beating them. There was no winning against that emotion that made fighting and struggling utterly worth it to be next to that person.

 _“Ilana.”_ Lance’s eyes rolled into the back of his head as the breathy moan escaped his body and declared his dirty little secret to the world without a hint of shame or remorse.

 _“Lance.”_ Keith grunted as he closed his eyes and pictured the blue paladin’s gorgeous blue eyes staring back at him, making his teeth curl into a goofy grin he never knew he could make.  

And Lance Number 2 had to ruin it all, _again._

 _“Keith?!”_ Lance Number 2’s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head as his neck snapped to look at the other guy. 

“Lance?”

“What the-”

“Now boys, let’s not ruin the good vibes~”

“Yeah later monster, we are kind of in the middle of something.” Lance interrupted the bemused alien. “Did you just moan my name?!”

“No!” Keith cried.

“But you said _Lance_.”

“ _My_ Lance, Blue Paladin Lance, the one I attended military school with and form team Voltron with!” Keith scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Not you!”

“Oh yeah… I thought you hated that guy?”

The alien couldn’t believe they were having this discussion right now.

“I don’t _hate_ him.” Keith blushed. “He just gets on my nerves sometimes.”

“Sometimes?” Lance quirked an eyebrow.

“Yeah… I don’t hate Lance when he takes things seriously. Or when he cracks jokes to ease the tension. Or while watching him straighten his hair in the morning when he flattens out those gorgeous curls of his…”  

Lance of Galaluna’s mouth dropped as he looked at this love-sick nerd crack the most smitten smile he had ever seen on him.

“Dude.” Lance smirked. “You’ve got it bad.”

“No! No I don’t! Because for me to have a crush on Lance, I would need to be gay and I am not gay! It must be the funky gas that is playing with our minds! I mean, it’s not like you actually have a crush on princess Ilana.”

Lance averted his gaze and Keith’s hopes of clinging to his heterosexuality plummeted.

“Do you?”

“Well…” Lance blushed. “I will admit it’s not the first time I haven’t thought about her in a platonic sense.”

“But you always go on about how annoying she is!” Keith cried as Lance's skin turned a shade of dark red.

“And you don’t do that about Lance Number 2?”

“ _You’re_ Lance Number 2!”

“Enough!” Alien monster was getting sick of this real fast. They slimy, slippery tentacles emerged to wrap themselves around Keith and Lance’s heads. “I was going to make this a somewhat pleasant experience before I took over your bodies and searched for your loved ones so I could devour them whole, but both of you just had to kill the mood!”

Keith and Lance stared at the alien monster like they had grown another head.

“Well, I will just have to do this the unpleasant and old-fashioned way!” the alien bared their teeth.

“Listen, I’ve had a cockroach monster climb into my mouth and try to take over my body. Do your worst.” Lance scoffed like what the alien was suggesting was no big deal, which made Keith’s draw drop _because oh dear God he hoped that Lance was fricking joking_.

What was it with people named Lance and their big fat mouths? Huh?!

“If you insist.”

This was it. This was it. Keith was gonna die horribly by the hands of a tentacle alien in the middle of having a sexual identity crisis all because Lance Number 2 liked to bluff and Team Voltron would have no idea what happened to him, until tentacle alien probably seduced the pants off blue paladin Lance and killed their entire space family.

Things just couldn’t get any worse. They really couldn’t.


	3. Purple Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the beginning of the end.

“Listen, I’ve had a cockroach monster climb into my mouth and try to take over my body. Do your worst.” Ilana told Lance Lunis that he could be a total hothead and while he was aware that his temper could be short on some days, Lance thought that a little bit of spitfire would be a good way to keep this monster in its place.

The monster didn’t seem to agree.

“If you insist.”

And with those three little words, Lance realised _he blew it_.

“Well, at least I won’t have to worry about my sexual identity crisis because we’re gonna be dead in a few minutes.” Keith spat at Lance. “Thanks a lot, _Lance_.”

“You’re welcome, _Keith_.” Lance growled, wanting to smack his forehead on some concrete because maybe it would help him think, think, _think_ of a way out of this mess. He didn’t need all these images of Octus and Ilana clouding his head at a time like this! He shouldn’t be thinking about the time he and Ilana raised Octus back from the dead, about the night they first landed on planet earth or that fateful dance underneath the school disco lights replicating the three moons back on Galaluna that made him realise that Ilana was really, really pretty and that perhaps this was what being _at_ _home_ felt like. 

That was when Lance realised that he couldn’t think of anything. How could he, when his entire life was flashing before his eyes?

“Argh!” he screamed in agony as a tear rolled down his eye. “Let us go! Let us go home!”

Lance Lunis could tell Keith wanted to do the same thing when he tried to struggle against his bonds again.

“In due time, my dear, in due time.” They couldn’t die with this monter’s voice clouding their thoughts and its breath making their heads swirl, not when there were still so many possibilities on the horizon. Not when there was someone to go home to.

Lance closed his eyes, refusing to believe that this was the end until he heard a battle cry pierce through his ear drums. He opened them again and saw the image of a knight in blue and white shining armour swing on a vine like that monkey man in those Tarzan movies Ilana insisted they watch, swoop in to cut the vines that were holding Keith and scoop the boy up in his arms.

What made Lance balk though, was that in the process of being rescued, most of Keith’s clothes had been cut off.

‘Well.’ Lance thought. ‘Maybe being held by his crush while half naked will help him figure out his sexuality.’

Lance only had a few seconds to snicker at his own observation before the angry mutant monster started having a fit. Someone did not like sharing their toys.

“GET BACK HERE!”

The tentacle monster did not have time to throw a hissy fit though, as a princess clad in golden and robotic armour dash towards them to give them a face full of a blue laser blast to the face and a punch in the gut for good measure.

 Lance gasped.

“Ilana!” His eyes lit up in only the way a boy in love could when he saw his beloved knock over a twelve-foot monster all by herself for the first time.

As if her ears were burning, Ilana forgot about the tentacle creep and scooped up Lance in her robotic mecha armour, carefully removing him from his shackles to preserve his shabby attire.

‘Aww. No being cradled half naked in her arms.’ Lance had never been more jealous of Keith at that moment, but he soon got over it when he heard the frantic worry in Ilana’s cry: “Lance, are you all right?”  

‘Oh I am more than all right now that you’re here.’ Lance wanted to say because he hadn’t heard her sound like this since they had lost Octus, but he actually said: “Doing better than I was a few seconds ago thanks to you.”

He couldn’t see Ilana through her mecha armour, but Lance knew she was smiling at that response in a way that would have made his heart melt.

“Well you’re gonna be fantastic in a moment.” Ilana said. “Allura, ready the canon. We have secured both Lance and Keith.”

“Roger that, Ilana.” Lance could hear another feminine voice from the communication device Ilana was using. “Fire on my count Red! One! Two! Three!”

In a cosmic cluster of colour and disgusting sludge, the tentacle monster that was just about to chase them had been blown to bits by a robotic red lion. The alien’s innards showered the sky with what humans would have called purple rain. Stars and clusters lost to the monster’s power also came out of the dying beast, creating a romantic setting under a pink and lavender sky that made the dark green swamp look less desolate and creepy.

Lance blushed at the thought that he was glad to have witnessed the sight in Ilana’s arms, but he admitted that he would never be able to look at rain the same way again.

“Princess Allura we have reached the rendezvous point, I repeat, we have reached the rendezvous point.” Blue paladin Lance reported to his commander.  

“Good work Lance! We will meet you there in five.” Now Lance Lunis only knew Princess Allura from the stories Keith had told him, but he could hear the pride and relief in that woman’s voice when blue paladin Lance gave the good news over the communicator. It was the admiration of a commander who was glad they could count on one of their soldiers in a mission of the utmost importance.  

Lance Lunis hoped Keith could hear all that from the tone of Princess Allura’s voice.

 

* * *

 

 

Once they had gotten away from the sludge avalanche, Lance Lunis watched as blue paladin Lance asked his lion to gently place him and Keith back on solid ground (during their well-planned escape, Lance opted for riding on Blue’s back in order to be able to sneak in and cut Keith from his vines with speed and grace). When both their feet were on the floor of a non-sludgy, watery surface, Lance McCain removed his helmet and held Keith’s face in his hands.

“Oh my gosh, Keith are you okay? Did that monster hurt you? The ship will be here in any minute buddy and we will get Coran to put you in a healing pod straight away. It’s going to be okay.”

Lance Lunis knew that Lance McCain was trying to assure Keith, but the red paladin still couldn’t stop the tears from falling down his face.

“I thought I’d never see you again.” All the tension and the fear Keith had contained in his body finally came pouring out of him and into the bawling moans he buried in Lance’s shoulder. The blue paladin didn’t seem to mind though, allowing the red paladin to wrap his arms around him and was not shy about returning the hug with equal fervour and affection. The purple rain did little to sound out Keith’s cries of relief and anguish, but that didn’t make the sight any less touching or romantic as the rain did little to detract Lance McCain from softly brushing his hand through Keith’s hair and whispering that it would be all right.

Lance Lunis was so caught up in the intimacy between those two boys in that moment that having Ilana tackle hug him literally took his breathe away for two different reasons.

“I didn’t think I’d see you again either.” Ilana sobbed into his chest and gripped onto his tatty shirt for dear life. “Octus said this planet was inhabited by a monster so foul and calculating, that I was afraid we wouldn’t reach you on time. But I’m so glad we did.”

Lance smiled down at the princess and nuzzled her head as he returned the hug.

“I feel the same way.”

* * *

 

“Now after you finish your grub, it’s straight to bed for both of you. You need all the rest you can get after what happened today!”

“Coran’s right, rest and relaxation after what happened will help you both recover from this incident.”

Lance Lunis was sure Coran was crazy if he thought a good meal and a nap would make him forget how trapped and vulnerable he felt under the monster’s influence, and he strongly thought about telling Octus to look for good advice elsewhere but he didn’t want to wake the robot while he was recharging.

So he settled for munching on some green goo on the kitchen floor of Allura’s palace. It was a nice and quiet place to think about how he escaped death and quite possibly worse at 2:00 AM in the morning.

“I’ve lost control of my life.” Lance groaned as one of Princess Allura’s mice squeaked at him affectionately. Lance grinned at the little tyke and rubbed the back of his ears, making the happy animal’s tail stand on end. “Thanks for staying up with me.”

“You’re welcome, Lance.” Lance Lunis quirked an eyebrow when Keith emerged from the hallway, the tired bags under his eyes showing undeniable evidence that the red paladin had not gotten a wink of sleep tonight. “If you want some really good green goo, we keep Hunk’s batch in a yellow jar.”

“Hunk’s the dude dating the Balmera girl, right?” he saw a tall, dark and handsome dude with his arm wrapped around the rock woman at dinner. “He’s good.”

“Yeah.” Keith beamed and joined Lance as he fed one of the mice.

They sat there in relative peace and quiet, until Lance addressed the tentacle in the room.

“So…” Lance said. “About what happened…”

Lance regretted even speaking when he saw Keith visibly shudder.

“Sorry, sorry! I… Ugh.” Lance groaned. “Listen Keith, if you want to forget about what happened, I’ll understand. I’m used to burying my feelings and working them out through martial arts and mortal combat, so I am more than happy to dismiss all this bullshit as a really bad Freudian nightmare.”   

He leaned back on the cupboard, already regretting his life choices and getting a strong urge to go fight that robot in the training room Princess Allura said they were banned from until they had fully recovered.

“I’m… not sure if I want to forget.”

Well this was news to Lance!

“What?!” it took Lance McCain and Team Voltron hours to get Keith to calm down and stop crying. Lance McCain stayed with Keith the whole afternoon, as did Shiro while the other members of Voltron tried their best to distract them from his woes. Pidge tried to tell stories about how they found him, Princess Allura tried to tell Keith how much the red lion missed him and almost didn’t want to let Allura fly him, Coran tried to show Keith the remains of that _thing_ to assure him that it was gone for good, but Keith didn’t stop until Hunk brought food.

Delicious, nutritious food.

“I have never felt more vulnerable and scared in my entire life, but I also don’t want to forget… That feeling when Lance’s face flashed before my eyes.”

Keith hugged his knees and looked at the floor.

“I thought about Shiro and Team Voltron when I thought we were gonna die, but the thought that passed through the mind most was that… I never got to tell Lance how I felt about him.”

Lance Lunis paused, giving Keith a bit of space to think before he asked his next question.

“How do you feel about him?”

Keith blushed and tried to distract himself by picking up and cradling the mouse.

“Look.” Lance sighed. “I know humans are… very judgemental to people that are different from them. Trust me, you people are not an easy species to assimilate with. So I understand why you’re scared but… Who was that earth dude that said anything beautiful is worth getting hurt for?”

“Prince?” Keith asked.

“Look, the man’s title is not the important thing right now.”

Lance did not know why Keith was laughing, but it was the first time he heard him chuckle since they got back on the ship. Lance’s posture visibly relaxed and the mouse in Keith’s hands tittered happily at the red paladin’s change of mood.

“No, Prince as in the Artist Formally Known as Prince?” Keith smirked as Lance sat there staring at him. “If we ever return to earth, we’ll introduce you to him.”

“Okay.” Lance reached his hand out to Keith. “But only if you decide if you’re gonna take Prince’s advice. “Deal?”

Keith quirked an eyebrow at the extended hand.

“Only if you take a page from Prince’s book too.” 

Lance scoffed.

“Princesses don’t marry kitchen boys.” Lance crossed his arms. “Or royal guards. This little fella here would have more luck winning Ilana’s hand in marriage than me.”

To distract himself from the depressing prospect of having to watch Ilana marry some rich, pampered aristocrat he decided to scratch behind the pet mouse’s ears again. He had decided to surrender to the fate of watching Ilana from afar and he was okay with that if the princess was safe and happy. She would need a husband of high birth to achieve that kind of security for herself and Galaluna.

“Maybe Princess Ilana would be the exception.” Keith said quietly. “She looked really glad to have you back.”

Lance thought about how Ilana held his hand from across the dinner table and smiled.               

“I was very glad to be back.”

This time the pair shared the silence on a happier note, until a third party member entered the scene.

“Well, well aren’t we cozy.” Lance almost burst out laughing when he saw Lance McCain enter the kitchen donning a robe and a full face mask, but he resisted the urge to make fun of Keith’s crush as they looked like a very displeased and disgruntled husband. “Enjoying a midnight snack? Or should I say 2:00 AM snack?”

“We couldn’t sleep.” Keith said and shyly tucked a piece of his hair behind his ear. “We’re sorry for waking you.”

Lance McCain looked like he wanted to be mad, but settled for putting his hands on his hips and sighing at the pair like they were completely and utterly hopeless.  

“I suppose I can forgive you for disrupting my beauty sleep if you come watch the stars with me!” he grinned and extended his hand to Keith. “You should see the clusters out there, they look like the fireworks back home!” 

The sight of Keith going goo-goo eyed over the blue paladin's offer made Lance Lunis wanna gag at the sugary sweet romantic moment that was a little schmaltzy for his taste and reminded him way too much of that scene from the Aladdin movie, where the main character asked Princess Jasmine “do you trust me?” Lance Lunis couldn’t believe Ilana got him to watch more Disney films!

Lance Lunis was more of a hugs-under-the-rainfall-after-escaping-near-death type of romantic and he was fine with that.

“It’s a date.” Although Lance Lunis couldn’t help but feel happy for Keith, especially since it was the first time any colour had truly returned to the red paladin’s pale cheeks. Though they were more pink than rouge at the moment.

“You two love birds enjoy yourselves.” Lance Lunis dusted his trousers and nearly smirked when Keith still hadn’t let go of Lance McCain’s hand. “I’m going the bed. Thanks for the goo.”

“Sleep tight Lance Number Two!” Lance McCain shouted loud enough to nearly wake up the whole ship, but Lance Lunis suppressed the urge to argue with him and say “I’m the oldest so therefore I am Lance Number One!” because he technically owed his life to the guy and he didn’t want to get on Keith’s bad side by fighting with his crush. He liked to think that surviving death together and moaning out their beloved’s names in front of each other under the haze of hypnosis made them fire formed friends.

“Goodnight Lance.” Keith seemed to agree by the way he said goodbye to him. “Sweet dreams.”

Lance Lunis grinned.

“You too.”

He hoped Lance McCain was the jealous type. Another good outcome of his friendship with Keith would be if it inspired Lance Number One to confess before the galra did. Lance Number Two allowed himself one big satisfied smirk as he watched Lance pout and go into full romance mode.

“Come, I’ll show you an asteroid that looks just like your eyes!” Lance crooned as he led Keith towards the back of the ship by his hand.

Lance Lunis strutted down the aisle of the ship before his heart nearly beat out of his chest.

“Lance it’s 2:00 PM, have you not gone to sleep yet?” watching Ilana stand there in her night dress, grabbing him by the shoulder and giving him that look that made him feel safe and cared for made him think: ‘Keith’s right, screw being a kitchen boy.’

“Don’t worry, Keith and I were just talking… about what happened.” Lance took Ilana’s hand and squeezed it to reassure her and perhaps try to communicate something he couldn’t say with words. “Sometimes the answer to life’s problems is talking about them with a friend over some nice green goo.”

He felt relieved when Ilana smiled and he just knew Keith wouldn’t be able to back out of their agreement now.  

“I’m so glad to hear you say that.” She hugged him for what felt like the hundredth time that day, but Lance didn’t care. He now knew that he never wanted these hugs to stop. “Please get some rest, okay?”

‘I’d do anything you asked me to at this point.’ Lance nodded and headed towards his room, feeling like he was on cloud nine as he thought about his next mission.

“Goodnight Ilana.”

“Goodnight Lance.”

Maybe he wouldn’t confess to Ilana today, or tomorrow, or even this year. But he knew that even if Ilana rejected him, he wanted her to know how much he meant to her.

Because death taught him that some things were just worth getting hurt for.


End file.
